BURNING POINT – The Blaze (2016)

Tomorrow is the release day for Finnish combo BURNING POINT new album “The Blaze“, the first full record featuring former Battle Beast vocalist Nitte Valo.
Although tagged as power metal, for me Burning point is more related to Melodic Metal with a strong dose of traditional Hard Rock groove.

Burning Point has been an active part of the European Metal scene since the late ’90s. Led by mastermind Pete Ahonen the band has released five studio albums since then, all to critical acclaim. In 2014 former Battle Beast singer Nitte Valo joined the band as new vocalist.

Late 2016, and the band now deliver another convincing album which concentrates on the band’s strengths solely: European melodic metal with power touches, spiced with bits of hard rock but also Judas Priest-like nuances, making ‘The Blaze’ a boiling fiery cocktail of passionate vocals and impactful riffs.

Nitte’s presence and unmistakable voice adds the special ‘something’ to the already established band’s sound. She absolutely delivers and does what she can do best; sing in perfect pitch and control.

There are eleven uptempo tracks here to have you bouncing around your living room and getting your air guitars out, although they can slow it down a bit, being the awesome ‘My Spirit’ being one example.
But my favorite – among all being really solid – should be ‘Time Has Come’, filled with true ’80s-style keyboards and a contagious melody.

Additionally, we have a killer cover of Lee Aaron’s classic ‘Metal Queen’, another proof of Burning Point’s Eighties feel, not only song-wise but also in production & sound which are very modern but inspired in the classic metal records of the glorious decade.
One of the best produced records I heard this year.

Don’t trust those classifying this band simply as power metal. Sure, there’s double bass drums and some galloping here and there, but everything is really melodic from the incredible clean vocals and sharp guitar riffs to the great classic keys / synth arrangements.
HIGHLY Recommended

01 – Master Them All
02 – Time Has Come
03 – Incarnation
04 – My Spirit
05 – The Lie
06 – Dark Winged Angel
07 – Chaos Rising
08 – Lost in Your Thoughts
09 – Things That Drag Me Down
10 – The King Is Dead, Long Live the King
11 – Metal Queen

Nitte Valo / Vocals
Pete Ahonen / Guitars
Pekka Kolivuori / Guitars
Sammy Nyman / Bass
Jarkko Väisänen / Keyboards
Jussi Ontero / Drums

PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.de/Blaze-Burning-Point/dp/B01LW170T2
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